18:00

58 : Talk

Test Tube sat by her laptop, per usual. She observed the subjects' reactions, per usual, and they were relatively worried.

Per usual.

That wasn't what the experiment was testing, of course, but it was still necessary to watch for their behavior. Because if the experiment was based on behavior changes, then of course she needed to keep an eye out. And with the cameras, that wasn't an issue, as long as she made good use of them.

"What'd you do this time?" Fan huffed, looking up at her. His eyes were squinted, struggling to make her out through his altered vision, let alone the cameras.

"Ah, just continued O-6's experiment. That box wasn't for nothing, you know." She replied, leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, right." Fan nodded. His tone was displeased, which wasn't anything new. Test Tube sighed, bracing herself for another scolding.

...But she was surprised to hear nothing more out of the man. She took in the moment of silence, before turning to face him. "Is there nothing else you want to say?"

"Nope." He replied rather frankly. She stared back, eyeing him up and down, until he finally sighed and spit out the whole truth. "Clearly my input doesn't do a thing, so I'll shut up."

His tone was bitter, and she could tell he still wanted to speak up about what she was doing. But she wouldn't push him to continue if he no longer wished to.

She turned back to her laptop, continuing to type down her observations.

J-2 was checking in on O-6. J-2 did always take on a caretaking role to the others. O-6 seemed to be making a quick recovery though, save for her constant shaking and attentiveness. That'd be something to be paid attention to with her new electricity alteration.

G-5 was distracting herself from the situation, it seemed, paying more attention to the notebook Test Tube supplied them with. It was a behavior she seemed to pick up from E-1, though G-5 had grown a lot more dependent on it.

Speaking of which, E-1 was stood by, not doing much of anything. Just watching, similarly to Trophy.

...She really needed a different name for him. He was the second highest subject she was most concerned about gaining sympathy for, considering that he used to help her with her experiment, no matter how reluctantly. Besides, his name was a little too similar to 'atrophy', especially since that was his condition. Would A-7 work? Maybe-

"So-"

"-ah!" Test Tube jumped, flinching as she turned to Fan. She must've been too caught up in her own thoughts, as he was now standing beside her. With an exasperated exhale, she looked back at him. It hurt a little to look him in the eyes, but she would at least grant him that much respect. "Sorry, what is it?"

"...So what are you planning over here?" He restated, hands held to himself. He seemed a little startled now himself, but tried to keep his expression as stern as possible.

"Ah. Right." She nodded, clearing her throat. "Well, I have a lot of loose ends to tie up. For one, I'm still completely unsure what the undead anomaly is in full picture. If I'm right, G-5 has recovered a reasonable amount. Otherwise, if I can think of another test for Trophy or Knife..."

She shrugged, before looking back at him. "...Oh come on, don't give me that look. You asked."

"I know, I know." Fan groaned, looking away. He stared at the laptop, though he couldn't make anything out either way, so Test Tube guessed he was just trying to play it off.

"Just tell me what you want, please." She sighed. Yeah, nothing good would come out of it, but she was the one person left she could actually talk to, and she wanted to be able to hold a conversation with him at the very least.